


Baking for Christmas

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13228614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Blair is bakng a Christmas cake





	Baking for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I can make out, the Christmas cake as described here is a UK rather than a US tradition - but what can I say? I am a Brit, after all :-)

Baking for Christmas

By Bluewolf

"What on earth are you doing, Chief?"

Blair looked up from the baking bowl into which he was carefully tipping a cupful of sugar, and grinned. "Christmas cake, man."

"But it's still three months till Christmas."

"Christmas cake needs to be made weeks ahead of time - gives the ingredients time to mature, lets the flavors mingle..."

Jim shook his head. He couldn't remember what his mother had done, but Sally had certainly never made cake in early October. But then he suspected that Sally had never made Christmas cake - she'd simply gone to Cascade's most upmarket bakery at some point in the week before Christmas and bought one.

"Don't tell me that with the way Naomi moved around, you were in the habit of carrying a cake around with you for three months."

Blair chuckled. "I don't say we never celebrated Christmas," he said, "though what we celebrated depended a lot on where we were at the time. But there was one year... " He fell silent, a look of almost nostalgia on his face.

"Yes?" Jim encouraged.

"It was one of the longest times Naomi stayed with anyone, and after she moved on... they stayed friends and she's even gone back a few times. Aunt Harriet was really into the whole Christmas thing - decorations, tree, a fancy Christmas dinner... different kinds of seasonal cake - traditional Christmas cake, stollen, pannetone... one or two I don't remember the name of - but the one thing I remember was, she always said a Christmas cake should be made several weeks ahead of time, and the first year we were there she made it right at the beginning of October. I still remember how good it was. I've never had the chance to make one myself till now... " He turned his attention back to the bowl and tipped in something else - Jim couldn't see what it was - then started mixing the things in the bowl together. "Anyway, I contacted her a couple of weeks ago, and asked her for the recipe. You'll like it, Jim, I promise you." He grinned. "I think Naomi definitely did; I said she went back several times. Well, at least half of those times coincided with Christmas, and although I know she wanted to see Aunt Harriet, the Christmas timing was too coincidental to be anything other than wanting some of Aunt Harriet's cake."

Blair fell silent for a moment. "Funny - maybe Harriet wanted it that way, but Naomi always insisted I call her 'Aunt' Harriet even though by then I rarely called Naomi 'Mom'.

"Anyway, there have been times I've thought it was only an ingrained unwillingness to settle down that kept Naomi from staying with Aunt Harriet permanently. She certainly goes back there a lot." He poured some liquid from another bowl into the baking bowl and carried on stirring.

Jim watched as Blair carried on adding liquid and continuing to stir, until finally he spooned everything in the baking bowl into a baking tin, that was already lined with baking parchment, ready for the oven.

Blair put the cake into the oven, set the timer, then gave a long sigh. "The one downside to making a cake like this is the washing up." He headed for the sink. Jim joined him, and as they shared the washing up, Blair went on, "Every two weeks or so I'll drizzle a little brandy or sherry over it - helps keep it moist and adds to the flavor. Then it gets iced two or three days before Christmas."

"Did that 'aunt' of yours give you cake with brandy in it when you were a kid?"

Blair chuckled. "Jim, Naomi was giving me well-watered wine with my meals before I was six. The Christmas we spent with Aunt Harriet - the amount of booze in the cake was nothing, there was just the flavor - I'll swear there was less alcohol in it than in one of those glasses of wine. And that New Year - we brought in the New Year with Scotch. Oh, again mine was well, well watered - the alcoholic content was almost non-existent, but I got something of the taste."

The phone rang, and Jim reached for it. "Ellison."

'Hello, Jim, it's Naomi. Is Blair there?'

"Yes." Jim handed the phone over. "Naomi."

"Hello, Naomi."

Jim couldn't help but hear what she was saying. 'Sweetie, I wanted you to know - I'm at Aunt Harriet's - and I'm here to stay.'

"Naomi? That's great! But why now?"

'I don't have to keep moving any longer. I never told you... there was someone looking for me, thought I belonged to him - even though I'd never said much more than hello to him. I don't know why he was so obsessed... He was why I left home in the first place. Your grandparents knew and understood, made sure I always had money... but they let me know he was always looking for me. All those years... But they let me know a few days ago that he'd died. The first thing I did was come to Aunt Harriet - I'd told her why I had to keep moving - I never wanted to leave her, and like I said, I'm here now to stay.'

"Oh, Mom! It seems heartless to say I'm glad that someone died... but I'm glad you can be happy now."

'And Blair, you and Jim are welcome to visit any time.'

"We'll do that. Give her my love, and tell her I've just put a Christmas cake into the oven - her recipe. Love you!"

'Love you, Sweetie, and love to Jim. See you soon?'

"As soon as we can organize a few days off. Bye."

Blair hung up then looked at Jim. "You heard?"

Jim nodded. "I hope she's happy, settling down."

"I think she's always wanted to, and now I know why she didn't."

"We could ask them here for Christmas."

"Yes - though I suspect Harriet would prefer it if we went there."

"Where is 'there', incidentally?"

Blair grinned. "Texas. Feel like a Christmas warmer than we get here?"

"It'll hardly feel like Christmas if it's warm."

Blair's grin widened. "At least it's still in the northern hemisphere, and officially winter."

Jim laughed. "Okay. I'll see Simon in the morning, and tell him that for once I'll be taking Christmas off. I'm looking forward to it already."


End file.
